Review of Tokyo Drifter (1966) by Donovan D — 19 Feb 2008
When people talk about Jean-Paul Belmondo oozing cool in Breathless, I've been very hesitant to agree given how cold and unlikeable his character his. Tetsuya Watari in Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter on the other hand, is one of the coolest gangsters that ever graced the silver screen.
Tokyo Drifter is an ambitious project in pop art formalism that uses color, music and sheer style to create an ambiance of ultra-cool. Suzuki is so wholeheartedly commited to these ends that there are points in the film where the style overrides the story to the point of narrative incoherency.
But plot is not the point of a film like Drifter - its about playing with the cartoonish qualities of the gangster film and then turning the dial up to 11, and Seijun Suzuki succeeds. While the film is often compared to Godard, I think there is a playfulness here that is absent from all but the very best of Godard's films and Suzuki is more kitschy in his approach.
If anything, Suzuki is the true progenitor of filmmakers like Tarantino and Rodriguez. For those interested in the roots of ultra-stylized contemporary postmodern cinema, this is a must see.
This review of Tokyo Drifter (1966) was written by Donovan D on 19 Feb 2008.
Tokyo Drifter has generally received positive reviews.
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